Ever since his release in 2020, Yone has been one of the most popular League of Legends champions. The connection with his brother Yasuo and the similarities in their kits have made him an enjoyable character across all levels of play. Yone is a champion with a lot of mobility that gives plenty of gratification when his combos are well-executed.
That being said, mastering the Unforgotten requires some patience and a certain level of mechanics. Not only that but it’s important to understand at which stages of the game Yone shines the most.
To help you out with the latter, we have created an in-depth guide on Yone’s runes and item builds, updated to the current preseason. Here are the best builds for Yone in League.
Runes
There is one effective rune setup for Yone, even though there can be small adjustments depending on the enemy team composition or opposing laner:
Lethal Tempo Yone
Precision
Lethal Tempo: Attack speed is Yone’s most important stat, especially in the early-game trades when he doesn’t get access to it. Ever since Riot Games reworked this rune, it has become the only viable option for him. Conqueror doesn’t work as well as Lethal Tempo since the champion is designed to go for quick and swift trades, so it’s much harder to stack it.
Triumph: This is the best one in this row since it gives Yone more gold and health restoration upon takedowns. The alternative is Overheal, but the shield value is not as high.
Legend: Alacrity: While all runes can be fine in this tree, attack speed is the No. 1 stat Yone must prioritize. You don’t need the tenacity since you have the E to get away from crowd control, and the build will have enough lifesteal that Legend: Bloodline is not necessary.
Last Stand: You can either go with this or Coup de Grace, depending on whether you are confident in your skill to snowball. Last Stand is much better the higher Elo you are since it will be hard to find substantial gold leads. The rune also synergizes better with the Immortal Shieldbow, granting you the maximum damage increase when the passive procs.
Resolve
Bone Plating: Most top lane champions have spells with high base damages which put them at an advantage in early-game trades. Bone Plating partially counters that, allowing Yone to keep up in the skirmishes. If the enemy is ranged or pokes you often, Second Wind might be the better choice.
Revitalize: Yone is all about shields, sustain, and healing, and Revitalize is the rune that amplifies all of them. Not to mention that it increases even more below 40 percent health.
Bonuses: +10 percent attack speed, +9 adaptive force, +6 armor
Items
To start off, it’s crucial to understand when Yone is at its weakest or at its strongest. In his case, just like his brother Yasuo, Yone obtains his power spike at two items, once he gets the 100 percent critical strike chance.
Before that, Yone does get some spikes upon defined item completions, which we will be looking into in-depth later.
For the starting items, there are two possible setups that you go for. The standard start includes the Doran’s Blade while the other is a more defensive start and it works with the Doran’s Shield.
While both are viable, it’s important to understand which one works better given the situation. If you’re facing some hard poke and an enemy that can beat you in the early game, Doran’s Shield is more effective. Otherwise, building Doran’s Blade works better if you want to be more aggressive with your trades.
Given Yone’s weak early game, however, Doran’s Shield is overall better at allowing you to survive the laning phase.
In the first few minutes of the game, your goal as Yone is to avoid dying and farming as much as possible to get the first items of the build.
Depending on how much you can get on your first recall, choose between Noonquiver or Berserkers’ Greaves. The first one costs more but it gives you a greater trading ability, while the tier-two boots grant you more mobility and more attack speed.
Keep in mind that Yone’s Q cooldown is directly related to his current attack speed. Unless you’re looking to go for a kill or trade often, Berserkers’ Greaves give more value within the laning phase. Regardless, you’re bound to build both items anyway, unless you want to rush the Blade of the Ruined King.
Speaking of the item, it’s something that has been rising up in popularity due to its effectiveness against tanks up in the top lane. It’s cheaper than the Immortal Shieldbow and it grants higher damage output in the mid-game.
That being said, rushing this item will inevitably slow your power spikes since you won’t get any critical strike chance. Therefore, build BotRK only against an enemy team comp with multiple tanks.
Both Immortal Shieldbow and the Infinity Edge are core items that must be built every game. It’s the fastest item combination that allows you to get maximum critical strike chance, attack speed, attack damage, and lifesteal for the sustain.
Once you get those items, assess the game state and whether you need to go defensive or aggressive. Death Dance is a great choice as it combines both resistances and offensive stats, while also giving you the bleeding passive which negates some of the burst damage. If the enemies have a lot of healing, you can also get a Mortal Reminder to counter it.
That being said, ever since they reworked the healing system, the item is not as effective anymore so Death Dance is recommended in the majority of the cases.
To close off the build, the best items are Guardian Angel and Bloodthirster. The first one grants you the revival passive which can be effective in teamfights and one-vs-one situations. The latter, instead, gives you even more healing and an extra shield to survive incoming burst damage.
If you’re looking to buy some magic resistance, remember to not build Maw of Malmortius since the Lifeline passive will overlap with the one from Immortal Shieldbow. Wit’s end is the alternative since it grants extra magic damage, otherwise, you can also go for a Spirit Visage to amplify your shields and heals.
Below you can find a typical complete Yone build:
